Alleged shooters to stand trial for murder

pjanczewski@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6333

A Genesee County Sheriff's Department paramedic was in the right place at the right time, a judge said, leading to the arrest of two Flint men suspected in a shooting outside a Flint Township night club.

"But not for Deputy Craig Sepanak ... we would not be here today," Central District Judge John L. Conover said.

He then ordered Chantantus C. "Sandman" Franklin, 20, and Defan D. Pringle, 23, both of Flint, to stand trial on murder, assault and weapons charges.

The charges stem from a May 5 shooting outside The Beach House Bar & Grille, 3503 Beecher Road, which left Akil J. Goodman, 24, dead, and David A. Washington and Gregory Curray, both 21, injured.

Sepanak said he was across the street at a convenience store when he heard about 10 gunshots and screaming from the bar.

He saw two vehicles leaving the lot rapidly and followed one, which eventually was stopped.

Pringle and Franklin were inside, along with two weapons.

A state police expert's report said bullet fragments and shell casings found at the scene matched those of the two guns used in the shootings.

After his arrest, Pringle told police he and Franklin fired shots toward the bar entrance before leaving.

The 1 a.m. shooting followed a night of disturbances inside the bar, witnesses said.

Neither victim could identify the people who fired shots that killed Goodman and wounded them.

Attorneys for the two defendants argued that no one could identify the shooters, but Conover said the evidence "weaves a thread" connecting both.

Franklin was acquitted by a jury earlier this year of assault with intent to murder and weapons charges in an unrelated case.

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